Mobile communication devices including devices such as smartphones, netbooks, gaming devices, PDAs, and laptop computers are now ubiquitous. A common and ongoing issue with these types of devices is power management. More specifically, these types of devices continue to develop more advanced processing resources, displays, and communication systems that demand more and more power.
In addition to the components on mobile communication devices creating increasing power demands, users' desire to wirelessly communicate (e.g., by voice and/or data) over a wide range of urban and rural geographical areas has also created power demands. And wireless network providers (e.g., carriers and hotspot providers) have responded to this user demand (and created even more demand) by deploying a wide variety of networks that are distributed all over the world. As a consequence of the expansive wireless network coverage that has developed, users now rely upon, and expect, content delivery over a variety of network conditions.
Although advances continue to be made in the areas of battery technology and hardware efficiency, these advances do not directly address the users' experience when a mobile device is operating under power constraints. As a consequence, the current mobile device power management techniques are not adequate to meet user expectations and will almost certainly not be satisfactory in the future.